Valerian, The Legendary

167 Turning Tables.

Ignis was standing in front of the assassin with a calm face, and said, “What would it take for you to give up this task? After all, you work for money, right?”

The assassin nodded and said, “Your proposal could have worked in the past, but not this time. Apologies, your highness.”

Ignis shook his head and said, “Flamma Liga.”

Immediately chains of fire appeared in the void as they advanced to coil around the body of the assassin, however, was it that easy? The person vanished with a puff of smoke. It was not a spell but a smoke bomb used by the assassin to confuse the prince.

The assassin was a warrior, trained to use the potential of his body to the limit. Assassins may be weak, but they were troublesome to deal with as they used trickery as a weapon to confuse and kill the enemy.

Just as the smoke bomb exploded, Ignis turned around on his feet, and raising his hand he said, “Flamma Iucalator.”

A javelin of flames shot forward and it was aimed at the guard standing in the distance. The guard was surprised by this, however, he did not move from his spot. He was experienced and knew that the attack was not meant for him. If he moved, he would be in the way. Ignis had aimed not at the guard, but at the space above the shoulder of the guard.

The assassin had moved from the smoke cloud, and he left a slight trail of smoke, leading behind the guard in the distance. Ignis was not goofy, at least not on the battlefield. He cared about himself, and his people. So he paid great attention to them. When the assassin moved, the eldest prince of the Lumen empire had noticed the shallow smoke trail in the void, and thus the javelin was cast.

The assassin had just taken out his dagger, when the javelin arrived, leaving him surprised, Ignis intended to kill him and this was not a bluff. He was surprised but then it was expected, a person must be decisive. He could not strike the person and retreated, as the javelin passed over the shoulder of the guard, who suddenly went down on his knees and turned around on his toes with a sharp sword out of its sheathe.

.....

The assassin was busy dodging the fire javelin and did not expect the guard to be so quick on the uptake. He was about to get hit by a sword and have his stomach split open when a voice sounded from the trees, “Murus Lipis.”

A stone wall appeared between the attacks and the assassin, saving him from the predicament. Ignis cast a gaze in the direction of the sound and found a person looking identical to the assassin. The only difference was the set of eyes.

Ignis smirked and said, “It turns out that the famous shadow assassination group relies on tricks as well. Truly impressive and cunning of you cowards.”

The assassin behind the wall could not attack the other two guards who stood back to back, prepared for any action from the other party. The person retreated decisively. The purpose of an assassin is to kill the target in one strike, if not, then retreat and wait.

Now that they have been exposed, abducting the prince will be even more difficult as this guy will be on his guard the entire time. The two assassins exchanged glances and they vanished in the thicket. Ignis said, “Let’s move out, it is not safe to spend more time here, and all of you stay on guard for deadly attacks and traps on the way.”

The guards nodded, they assumed a triangular formation and left the spot with Ignis in the center. This way they will be able to protect him properly. General Un was following them in the dark, and if that mage assassin was to attack the prince, he would have struck them down.

...

After getting away from Prince Ignis and his team, the mage assassin cast a binding spell against the warrior counterpart and gave him a good bashing. He looked at the man laying on the ground and berated him, “You trash, I told you not to get cocky. Did you think that Prince was a protected flower? He has been traveling all over the continent since a young age, he is battle-hardened. Yet you fool underestimated him. I should have let you die there and become a mound of ashes.”

The mage may look calm but he was pissed off completely. This mission was supposed to be a one-shot easy task. Now they will have to face the penalty from the Killer Hall.

...

While Ignis and his team were making their way through the region, Valerian and Ashlyn were playing a game of chess. At this moment, the tea has been prepared and sent out to the pillars of the empire. The grandmasters and the archmages. Other than that, Valerian cared for no one as he would be able to deal with all of them.

As the two played the game of chess, Sylvia passed the instructions to the maids. The staff of the palace was entirely against the present rulers. Although they did not dare to voice their thoughts, when Sylvia told them about the consequences of their silence, they all mustered up the courage and went ahead with the plan. The reason was simple, they did not want thousands of people to suffer for the selfishness of a foolish person.

It became easier for Sylvia to rally the maids together when she mentioned how the emperor would sometime cross the limits and rape the innocent teens. Then to make sure they stay silent this guy would have them killed. She also mentioned the soldiers who would die if the war was to take place, and she reminded a few maids that they had their brothers or fathers in the forces.

The tea was delivered to the people at their exclusive residences. When the maids were asked why they were serving tea. The maids replied in a calm manner, “Sire, the princess seeks your forgiveness for the earlier behavior in the royal courtroom. She stated that she wanted to come over personally but then she could not disobey the command from His Excellency.

She seeks your forgiveness and said that she is grateful for your sacrifices for the nation throughout your service.”

This was enough to bloat the ego of the self-center pricks. They felt gratified and with much pride and delight, they consumed the cups of tea served to them. The archmages and the grandmasters all passed on a message to the princess that it was alright for her to lose control as she was young and young people make mistakes.

The maids came back to report the status to Sylvia and Valerian stood up from his chair. He said, “I will go to take a stroll around your palace.”

Ashlyn nodded and said, “Feel free to move but make sure not to kill anyone. The people in the palace are all just following orders from Thales, it is not their fault.”

Valerian gave her an okay sign and then came to the door, he knocked, and the guard opened the door with a grumpy expression, “What is it ...”

He wanted to say a bit more when a punch landed on his temple, rendering him unconscious. The other guard saw this and turned around while his hand was reaching for a conch hanging around his waist, but a silver light flashed in front of him before everything turned dark.

Valerian smiled, then he tossed the guards inside the room and said, “Tie them up and seal their mouths. I will come back later.”

Sylvia was surprised by the scene, the second attack was not done by Valerian, but by the silver cat that followed him around. She could not believe what she just saw. Ashlyn was quick to wake up from the stupor and said, “Sylvia what are you waiting for, help me tie them up.”

Ashlyn produced vines after casting her magic spell, and she was smart. To make sure that these guys stay where they are, she tied them with the paralyzing vines. If they tried to move, the thorns will keep them in line. They had a plan, but it was very delicate and the room for error was terrifyingly low.

If they acted carelessly, things could go south and they could die. She did not want that. She was the princess of this empire and knew very well, that this sort of cunning action will stain the legacy of her ancestors.

She was unlike Thales who was driven mad by his greed for power. He was so foolish that he was willing to be in cahoots with Valkyrians, who were known for their backstabbing skills. All this for what? For a child that was yet to be born? When she thought about this, she suddenly raised her eyebrows and asked Sylvia, “How long has it been since the Empress has been pregnant?”